But perhaps no Portland venue closing was more ominous than that of Lucid Stage, the 75-seat black box theater in Oakdale, which ceased operations in September after only two years of business, during which it hosted dozens of local companies and was a key cog in the inaugural PortFringe season. While each of these individual venues faced different obstacles, the overall concern is frightening. Portland's arts scene is one of its most vibrant and vital characteristics, and the city (and its citizens) must find ways to enable and protect the arts throughout the cycles of its production, from rehearsal to performance.

SPACES ON THE FLY

Perhaps that's why we saw so many pop-ups in 2012. Temporary and site-specific installations, they came in the form of restaurants, retail shops, art galleries, theater pieces, dance parties, and more, and allowed artists a maximum amount of collaboration, flexibility, and design choice. Pocket Brunch, the itinerant monthly restaurant started by Joel Beauchamp and Katie and Josh Schier-Potocki, sold out seats at its December meal, a Game of Thrones-themed fete at Geno's, at $75 a head. East Bayside coffee hub Tandem Roasters brewed up a few interesting parties, art walks would frequently set vacant retail space into bustling events, and Gallery 37-a, for years an Old Port depot of contemporary art forms, refashioned itself in 2012 as a mutable high-end retail store. There were countless more, but since these things are ephemeral by design, they resist easy documentation.

There are a number of theories why pop-ups are in vogue. Is it merely economics? Perhaps artists are hedging against the financial risk that comes with leasing; maybe they're responding to the flux of unused space to sprout during the recession. Or is it a natural response to the digital age? Social media can both streamline and restrict invitations to intended demographics, giving flash installations the discreet charm of an elite party and thus granting more creative license to producers. Or maybe artists just have too many good ideas to start a conventional business, and pop-ups allow for collaboration with rotating casts of characters instead of the monotony of traditional models. Whatever the reason, the Portland contributions to the national pop-up trend turned a lot of heads in 2012, and it's not something we expect will quiet in 2013.

LESS TRANSPARENCY

How best to avoid scrutiny for official actions, when pesky notes and emails qualify as public records open to inspection? Simple: Don't make any records. And sure enough, shortly after his 2011 inauguration, Republican Governor Paul LePage stopped taking notes in meetings or otherwise using written or electronic communication. Over the past year, the practice has expanded significantly, to most — if not all — of his department commissioners and other senior staff. (If they're unable to completely avoid creating a paper trail, what is recorded is extremely limited.) As a result, there are precious few records of discussions, proposals, and agreements being made at the highest levels of state government. We are losing accountability now and for all time because these political operatives are circumventing the state's open-government law while pursuing their agenda. Perhaps they're doing things we would all approve of, if we could only learn about them. That is indeed possible — but causes us to wonder what they'd have to hide, then. Less transparency in government is always bad, and barring public access to the thoughts and deeds of those at the very top is nothing short of anti-American.

Does Portland want an elected mayor? The campaign to bring an elected mayor to Portland, a proposal championed by the city's charter commission as well as several arts and business groups, officially launched at a City Hall press conference on Tuesday.

In 2012, election year intrigue awaits The new year is, of course, an election year. And while the presidential race will probably be less-than-dramatic in Rhode Island, there will be plenty of other intriguing fare for the political junkie.

Thanks for nothing! We'd like to be thankful, we really would. Change came to Washington this year and the Mad Men returned.

Grossman for Treasurer There are two impressive candidates running for state treasurer in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

David Cicilline for Congress All elections are important, of course. But Rhode Island voters have a rare opportunity this fall to remake the state’s political hierarchy in sweeping fashion.

Could Cicilline be in for a surprise on Tuesday? With the Democratic primary for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District seat in the home stretch, most observers say Providence Mayor David Cicilline is the man to beat. And there is much to recommend the view.

Providence's mayoral candidates, on bended knee In a parallel universe, where serial candidate Christopher Young's antics are simply an ingenious bit of performance art — and not evidence of a worrisome and often obnoxious instability — his display at the recent Providence mayoral debate might qualify as a sort of capstone on a brilliant career.

Bad news for Mitt? If former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney runs for president again in 2012, he will start with some distinct advantages over his likely opponents for the GOP nomination.

Addicted to distraction I have just finished conducting extensive scientific experiments that required me to wear a white lab coat, to order my deformed assistant to dig up corpses from fresh graves, and to combine common household chemicals in plastic soda bottles. The results of my tests are indisputable.

MICHAUD FOR GOVERNOR | November 03, 2014 However you’ve been following the race for Governor this election season, you’ve been hearing it from all sides, so we’ll make this one brief. We urge you to vote for Michael Michaud.

ADVANCED BEAUTY LESSONS | November 03, 2014 Described as a “body-positive visibility project,” Portland’s Jack Tar 207 is all about representation. Models are encouraged to bring their own clothing and personal belongings to the shoot, which owner-designer LK Weiss says brings out “a level of confidence that many people don’t feel in front of a camera.”

LITERALLY LGBT | October 31, 2014 A community-compiled list of important GBLTQ works through the years.

BACK TO REALITY | September 18, 2014 If you’re a student in southern Maine and are at all interested in arts and humanities, and have a budget of exactly $10 to spend on any one event, there’s a lot in your favor.